Brave Builders of French flavours
French-inspired cafe Builders At Sims brushes off one-star review and draws in more diners
Late last year, a group of noisy women reportedly went to the Builders at Sims cafe, ignored the minimum order during the lunchtime peak hour and refused to leave when asked to by staff.
They demanded an explanation, asking why they had to leave when chef-owner Joey Lim asked them to make way for paying customers.
The women proceeded to post a one-star review for the cafe online.
Ironically, the online attention it generated did wonders for business, with most netizens being more interested in the food rather than how those women felt.
I was intrigued too, so I paid the cafe a visit.
The first thing I noticed was that it directly faced the Sims Vista Market & Food Centre in a Housing Board estate.
That normally would be the death knell for a French-inspired restaurant in the Geylang area.
Chef Joey, who graduated from the Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute in France, left a head chef job at Tiong Bahru Bakery to open the restaurant with his fiancee Goh May Ning.
Why Sims Place? Because a silent partner who owns the premises offered a fair rent for the dozen-table eatery.
This isn't a place for public transport but it has easy access to car parks.
Builders has been around for two years and I expected it has settled in the kitchen and service. I was right.
The soup of the day, Bacon Minestrone ( $7.90), came with a buttered bread stick and set the standard for the meal - the hints of bacon in the thick tangy vegetable soup was a palate awakener.
Then I tore into the Panko Herbed Fish Burger ($16.90).
The oversized herbed, crispy and crusty snapper fish came juicy inside and the soft bun, greens and fries just completed the spectacle.
This is what a fish burger should be, in my books - a level up from the usual fast-food fare.
The Beef Cheek ($17.90) with mash, root vegetables and pumpkin chips was a riot.
The beef was cooked sous vide for 24 hours and it came almost as soft as the mash, and the wine sauce did not overwhelm the gentle beefiness.
The Ratatouille Pasta ($12.90) - al dente tagliatelle with braised greens and light herbal hints - was done with the top three French kitchen secrets: butter, butter and more butter.
There is a reason why this dish is a bestseller that has never left the menu.
The Papillote Snapper ($21.90) came paper-wrapped and baked and Chef Joey was careful not to take anything away from its freshness with the sauce, mushrooms and greens.
But the star was the butter lemon grass rice (comes separately for $3) that I had with it.
With dessert, I saved the best for the last. The French Toast ($13.90) comprised brioche bread chunks with berries sauce and ice cream.
It felt crispy (from the burnt caramel), soft, sour, sweet, cold and hot, all at once.
Builders, keep it up - and don't be afraid to tell folks who cannot respect chefs to go elsewhere. Perhaps in a hawker centre, being cheap and noisy can be a more acceptable part of the culture.
BUILDERS AT SIMS
53 Sims Place, #01-160
Tel: 6747-1837
Tuesday to Sunday, 11.30am to 9pm (till 4pm on Sundays).
Closed on Monday
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